Shows / Ellington Reflections
Ellington Reflections
Reflections on the many facets of the world of Duke Ellington, sometimes referred to as “Ellingtonia.”
Episodes
- Ellington Reflections
The Girl’s Suite (Podcast #26-006)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/the-girls-suite.mp3 “The Girl’s Suite” is a 1961 tribute to singers Lena Horne…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Barrie Lee Hall, Jr. (Podcast #26-005)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/portrait-of-barrie-lee-hall-jr.mp3 Barrie Lee Hall, Jr. (1949-2011) Rock Skippin’ at the Blue…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Sidney Bechet (Podcast #26-004)
“Sidney Bechet was one of the truly great originals. I shall never forget the first time I heard him play, at the Howard Theatre in Washington around…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Kenny Burrell (Podcast #26-003)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/portrait-of-kenny-burrell.mp3 The recordings heard on this podcast episode: Johnny Hodges / Wild…
- Ellington Reflections
The original Far East Suite (Podcast #26-002)
“After thirteen different shots and vaccinations, we leave New York on September 6, 1963, for one of the most unusual and adventurous trips we have ever…
- Ellington Reflections
Beyond the Usual Suspects & Happy Birthday, Duke! (Podcast #26-001)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/podcast-26-001.mp3 Most Duke Ellington tribute concerts and recordings rely on just a handful of…
- Ellington Reflections
Five Books (Podcast #25-004)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/five-books.mp3 The Drum is a Wild Woman – Patricia G. Lespinasse A Drum is a Woman/A Drum is…
- Ellington Reflections
Happy Birthday, Duke! (Podcast #25-003)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/happy-birthday-episode.mp3 “At least one day out of the year all musicians should just put…
- Ellington Reflections
The Magazine Suite (Podcast #25-002)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/the-magazine-suite.mp3 “The Magazine Suite is an entirely new three-part composition. The…
- Ellington Reflections
The Latin American Suite (Podcast #25-001)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/latin-american-suite_podcast_25_001.mp3 “The Latin-American Suite was unusual in that it was…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Mercer Ellington, Part III (Podcast #24-005)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/portrait-of-mercer-ellington_part-iii.mp3 In 1994, Mercer appeared on an episode of Marian…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Mercer Ellington, Part II (Podcast #24-004)
“[Duke Ellington] has set forth a restlessness, a music that has made for progress over three decades. Devoting myself to the things he has come to…
- Ellington Reflections
Happy Birthday, Duke! (Podcast #24-003)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/happy-birthday-podcast.mp3 Happy Birthday, Duke! Duke Ellington was born on this date 125 years…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Mercer Ellington, Part I (Podcast #24-002)
“At Columbia University’s New College, where I was studying engineering, my instructors constantly inquired whether I had written any songs. I was…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Jimmy Jones (Podcast #24-001)
“Jimmy Jones is a close member of our musical family. Outside of our original version, he and Toby Hardwick were the first to do “Come…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Harold “Shorty” Baker (Podcast #23-011)
“Harold “Shorty” Baker came into the band in 1942 to give us our first trumpet section of four. He joined Ray Nance, Rex Stewart, and Wallace…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Wellman Braud (Podcast #23-010)
“Bill “Bojangles” Robinson and Wellman Braud were like Jelly [Roll Morton]; they’d talk as long as anyone would listen and hung around…
- Ellington Reflections
Side by Side and Back to Back (Podcast #23-009)
The recordings heard on this podcast episode: (CD: “Duke Ellington, The Centennial Edition” RCA Victor – 09026-63386-2) I Can’t Give You Anything But…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Arthur Whetsel (Podcast #23-008)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/portrait-of-arthur-whetsel.mp3 “As a trumpet player, [Arthur Whetsel] had a tonal personality…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Norris Turney (Podcast #23-007)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/portrait-of-norris-turney.mp3 Norris Turney (Photo by Jan Persson) The recordings heard on this…
- Ellington Reflections
Togo Brava Suite (Podcast #23-006)
In 1967, the west African nation of Togo released a postage stamp of Duke Ellington. Ellington reciprocated by writing the four movement Togo Brava Suite in…
- Ellington Reflections
Suite Thursday (Podcast #23-005)
“Then in 1960 we came up with Suite Thursday for the Monterey Festival that year…we tried to parallel John Steinbeck’s story, “Sweet…
- Ellington Reflections
Parisian Birthday Celebration (Podcast #23-004)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/parisian-celebration-23_004.mp3 “Over on the Left Bank in Paris, Billy Strayhorn and Aaron…
- Ellington Reflections
Ellington 2023 – Duke and the Lights (Podcast #23-003)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/city-of-lights.mp3 ELLINGTON MEETING 2023 Since 1981, Ellington experts from around the world have…
- Ellington Reflections
One More Once… (Podcast #23-002)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/one-more-once.mp3 The recordings heard on this podcast episode: Drop Me Off in Harlem (CD…
- Ellington Reflections
Reminiscing In Tempo (Podcast #23-001)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/reminiscing-in-tempo.mp3 “Every page of that particular manuscript [Reminiscing in Tempo] was…
- Ellington Reflections
Cootie plays Duke, Part II (Podcast #22-013)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/cootie-plays-duke-part-ii.mp3 The recordings heard on this podcast episode: Concerto for Cootie…
- Ellington Reflections
Cootie plays Duke, Part I (Podcast #22-012)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/cootie-plays-duke-part-i.mp3 The recordings heard on this podcast episode: Echoes of Harlem (CD…
- Ellington Reflections
The New York Choral Society performs Duke Ellington’s Sacred Concerts (Podcast #22-011)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/sacred-concert-podcast-2022.mp3 “The concert was performed for the first time on September…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Louie Bellson (Podcast #22-010)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/portrait-of-louie-bellson.mp3 “Louis Bellson is the epitome of what Paul Gonsalves means when…
- Ellington Reflections
The Perfume Suite (Podcast #22-009)
ERRATA — In the podcast, I said the later version of “The Perfume Suite” was recorded in 1961. Only “Strange Feeling” was…
- Ellington Reflections
The Deep South Suite (Podcast #22-008)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/the-deep-south-suite.mp3 “In 1946, we might remind ourselves, the American South was a…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Russell Procope, Part II (Podcast #22-007)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/portrait-of-russell-procope-pt-ii.mp3 “I enjoyed every day I was a member of the Ellington band…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Russell Procope, Part I (Podcast #22-006)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/portrait-of-russell-procope-part-ome.mp3 “Russell Procope…. a man of dignity and…
Ellington ReflectionsCreole Rhapsody (Podcast #22-005)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/creole-rhapsody_podcast-mp3.mp3 “So I went out and wrote Creole Rhapsody, and I did so much…
- Ellington Reflections
Beyond the Usual Suspects, Part II (Podcast #22-004)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/beyond-the-usual-suspects-part-ii.mp3 Most Duke Ellington tribute concerts and recordings rely on…
- Ellington Reflections
Beyond the Usual Suspects, Part I (Podcast #22-003)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/beyond-the-usual-suspects-part-i.mp3 Most Duke Ellington tribute concerts and recordings rely on…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Charlie Barnet, Part II (Podcast #22-002)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/portrait-of-charlie-barnet-part-ii.mp3 “Meanwhile, I was looking around for musicians who…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Charlie Barnet, Part I (Podcast #22-001)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/portrait-of-charlie-barnet-part-i.mp3 “Charlie Barnet has always been a wonderful friend to…
- Ellington Reflections
Ellingtonians play Ellington (Podcast #21-007)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/ellingtonians-play-ellington.mp3 “Spanning over five decades (1923-1974), the Duke Ellington…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Jimmy Hamilton, Part III (Podcast #21-006)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/12/portrait-of-jimmy-hamilton-part-iii.mp3 “It took considerable courage for Mr. Hamilton, whose…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Jimmy Hamilton, Part II (Podcast #21-005)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/jimmy-hamilton-part-ii.mp3 The recordings heard on this podcast episode: What Am I Here…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Jimmy Hamilton, Part I (Podcast #21-004)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/jimmy-hamilton-part-i.mp3 “[Jimmy Hamilton] usually manages anything musical that he sets his mind…
- Ellington Reflections
And the Trumpets Sing! (Podcast #21-003)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/trumpets-sing.mp3 Ray Nance, photo by Lee Tanner The recordings heard on this podcast episode: Dear…
- Ellington Reflections
My Favorite (Ellington) Things, according to the iPod (Podcast #21-002)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/my-favorite-ellington-things.mp3 “iPod – 10,000 songs in your pocket” –…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Tyree Glenn (Podcast #21-001)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/portrait-of-tyree-glenn.mp3 “Tyree, to me, is a very beautiful trombone player. He plays real…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Joya Sherrill (Podcast #20-006)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/portrait-of-joya-sherrill.mp3 “[Joya] did such a good job on “I’m Beginning to…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Juan Tizol (Podcast #20-005)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/juan-tizol.mp3 “Juan Tizol was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, and suitably named after the…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Sam Woodyard (Podcast #20-004)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/portrait-of-sam-woodyard.mp3 “Sometimes we would write something that seemed or was expected…
- Ellington Reflections
Variations on a Theme Song (Podcast #20-003)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/variations-on-a-theme-song.mp3 “”Our theme is [Billy Strayhorn’s] “Take the…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Rex Stewart, Part II (Podcast #20-002)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/rex-stewart-part-ii.mp3 “In the Ellington band, Stewart quickly blossomed into a major jazz…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Rex Stewart, Part I (Podcast #20-001)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/portrait-of-rex-stewart-part-i.mp3 “…[H]e was an exciting player who made a big…
- Ellington Reflections
Beyond the “Usual Suspects” once more (Podcast #19-021)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/covers.mp3 Most Duke Ellington tribute concerts and recordings rely on just a handful of his…
- Ellington Reflections
Duke Ellington’s Wordless Melodies for the Soprano (Podcast #19-020)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/soprano-podcast.mp3 Dr. Lisa M. Clark’s thesis, Synchrony of the Sublime: A Performer…
- Ellington Reflections
Beyond the “Usual Suspects” [Again] (Podcast #19-019)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/usual-suspects-19_019.mp3 Most Duke Ellington tribute concerts and recordings rely on just a…
- Ellington Reflections
“Rabbit’s Blues” – A Conversation with Johnny Hodges biographer Con Chapman (Podcast #19-018)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/rabbitc292s-blues-podcast.mp3 “You ever drink any cool, clean spring water? You can add things to…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Jimmie Blanton (Podcast #19-017)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/portrait-of-jimmie-blanton-mp3.mp3 “Jimmy [sic] Blanton revolutionized bass playing, and it…
- Ellington Reflections
Ellingtonian Geography (Podcast #19-016)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/ellington-geography-podcast-fixed.mp3 “Night Life was New York, Chicago, San Francisco…
- Ellington Reflections
The Treasury Shows, Pt. V (Podcast #19-015)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/treasury-shows-psrt-5.mp3 “In April 1945, Duke Ellington began what was to be the largest single…
- Ellington Reflections
Portrait of Lawrence Brown, Pt. II (Podcast #19-014)
https://ellingtonreflections.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/portrait-of-lawrence-brown-part-ii.mp3 “As a soloist, his taste his impeccable, but his…